Dream make WNBA Finals as Angel Reese ‘takes us to another level’

The Indiana Fever’s best players were in street clothes, yet they came back to beat the Atlanta Dream in the first round of last year’s WNBA playoffs. The Dream fell apart at winning time in Game 3, then watched the visitors celebrate on their floor.

The Dream were good, but they weren’t focused or tough enough to put away the shorthanded Fever. The plan to fix those deficits was simple: Just add forward Angel Reese.

It worked.

The Dream are back in the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013 largely because Reese provides what they’d been missing. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against the Valkyries is on Saturday in San Francisco.

“We’re excited that the opportunity to get Angel was there, and that it worked out in the way that we that we hoped it would work out,” Dream coach Karl Smekso said. “Her competitiveness definitely takes us to another level. And then throughout the course of the year, she’s just improved so much as a player and continues to get better and has really helped us meet the moment this year.”

It doesn’t always work out that way when underachieving teams add a high-profile player. With Reese, there were questions about her ability to be a big part of a winning WNBA team.

The Chicago Sky didn’t make the playoffs during her two years with them. Reese and the team separated on bad terms after a public falling-out. The Sky traded Reese to the Dream for draft picks.

She immediately proved that she wasn’t the one holding back the Sky. Reese won the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award and helped the Dream earn a title shot.

“It’s a dream come true,” Reese said. “Coming to Atlanta, the goal for me was to just get them past the first round because I wanted that for them. I watched them last year when they played and how they came up short … Then, we got out of the first round and it’s, ‘We can do more.’

“I think the expectations have risen beyond what I expected. I didn’t know we were going to the Finals. But obviously, now, the expectation is to go the Finals every single year.”

The numbers show Reese’s defensive impact. She led the league in rebounds per game (12.1) for the third straight year and was third in total steals (77). The Dream allowed 7.9 fewer points per 100 possessions with Reese on the floor, and she had the league’s sixth-best defensive rating.

I’ll always remember ex-NBA coach Doc Rivers saying that everybody wants to dribble, pass and shoot because offense is fun. But Rivers said not everybody wants to play defense, because it’s hard.

Reese said she learned to love defense as a young point guard.

“A lot of people don’t want to do the hard work, and I’m willing to do the hard work,” Reese said. “The best players in the world are willing to do the hard stuff. I remember Kobe Bryant said it takes hard work to be one of the greatest players.

“I’m in my Year 3 and I’m not satisfied with where I am. But I am going to do the hard things, whatever it takes. I don’t want an easy route.”

Reese backs up her words on the court. She’s an energetic, gritty and smart defender.

Look at how Reese holds her ground against bigger opponents and moves her feet against quicker foes. See how she instinctively rotates to the weak side to help at just the right time. Watch her turn away drivers who think they have space to score when they beat their defender.

“Our defender goes by us, she cleans up the board,” Dream guard Allisha Gray said. “Defender goes by her, she’s able to clean up the board. She’s able to guard (positions) one through five, get steals. She’s the complete defensive player.”

The holes in Reese’s offensive game became smaller during the season.

At the All-Star break, Reese was making 48% of her shots from five feet and closer. That was the worst accuracy in the league for players with at least five attempts per game from that range. But Reese made 56% of her close-range shots after the All-Star break.

Smesko encouraged Reese to work on extending her shooting range to the 3-point line. She made 19% of her 3-point attempts this season (11-for-57). Reese is 5-of-13 on 3’s during the playoffs (39%).

I saw a big change in Reese’s game during the Dream’s trip out West in August. There was no hesitation when she got the ball in scoring position. Reese made confident moves around the basket and finished her shots.

The Dream won all four games during that trip. They closed the season with a five-game winning streak, then swept the Mystics and Liberty to make the Finals.

Reese gave the Dream what they were missing.